A P&O spokesman said the final air ambulance flight was in the air and expected to arrive in Brisbane before evening.

"Our ships have been cruising to Vanuatu since the 1970s, and the South Pacific for more than 80 years, and no-one is aware of anything of this magnitude happening in the past," he said.

"The 10 passengers who sustained significant injuries were all being airlifted from Port Vila to Noumea or Brisbane for specialist hospital care".

Nine of the patients returned to Brisbane yesterday.

UPDATE: THE first injured patients from a bus crash in Vanuatu have arrived in Brisbane where they will be treated,

"We're moving nine patients we believe at this stage from the (Brisbane) Airport to Brisbane Hospitals following a road traffic crash in Vanuatu overnight," of QAS Senior Operations Supervisor Matthew Green said.

"The first two have just arrived, it was a husband and wife - and woman in their 70s the husband had a fractured leg, one had afractured arm, they're okay they seem fairly happy albeit a bit broken and bruised."

Mr Green said the patients would be treated in a number of different hospitals across northern and southern Brisbane.

EARLIER TODAY: TWO locals have died and a group of Australian tourists has been seriously injured in a bus crash in Vanuatu.

P&O Cruises Australia confirmed 12 passengers who had disembarked the Pacific Dawn ship were hurt, along with a number of locals.

The ship had sailed the Pacific after departing from Brisbane.

The company's spokesman, David Jones, confirmed two locals were killed in the head-on crash between a local bus and a tour bus operated by a local company.

"In terms of the Australian passengers, 12 had significant injuries and 10 of those were at a level where we thought it was best to arrange air ambulance evacuations to Noumea and to Brisbane," he told the ABC.

Mr Jones said airlifts had been underway throughout the night to transport the Australians to Noumea or Brisbane for specialist treatment.